ABSTRACT
The most Classical expression of French Baroque can be found in the paintings of Nicolas Poussin (1594-1665), who was born in Normandy, in northern France, and who lived most of his adult life in Rome. From the 1620s, his work was widely admired, and his access to important patrons was ensured. Partly in reaction to the exuberance of Baroque, especially in Rome, Poussin took Raphael as his primary artistic model. As a result of his formal precision, Poussin has been called a "cerebral" painter, even though he used Baroque techniques to convey an enormous variety of emotional expression. His subject matter includes biblical, mythological, and historical events, landscape, and portraiture. Like the Carracci, Poussin was drawn to Classical texts as the inspiration for much of his imagery. But he infused the textual underpinnings with emotional depths that convey a new thoughtfulness and solemnity even in his most joyous works. Poussin's views on painting would become the text of Academic art in France.
